Coast Guard to limit harbor access

The US Coast Guard will conduct random boat searches, place city tour boats and VIP vessels under armed escort, and board large freighters before they enter Boston Harbor during next month's Democratic National Convention, officials announced yesterday.

Restrictions under a new security zone, in force from 12:01 a.m. July 26 until 2 a.m. July 30, will close the Charles River locks and a segment of the river from the Museum of Science to 50 yards east of the Charlestown Bridge. The security zone will limit boat traffic around the FleetCenter and access between the harbor and Charles River.

Some 600 personnel, one of the largest US Coast Guard contingents in Boston history, will be deployed in boats, helicopters, and on land to enforce these and other restrictions. Violators who enter a security zone face maximum criminal penalties of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In announcing the new security restrictions, Coast Guard officials said they will allow all recreational and commercial boats to continue to cruise much of the Boston Harbor. After discussions between Coast Guard officials and local recreational boaters, the opening date of the security zone around the FleetCenter was moved from July 24 to July 26, allowing weekend mariners to get in one more run before the weeklong security crunch.

''We're trying to minimize the impact on the public," said Lieutenant Gabrielle McGrath, the Coast Guard's security coordinator for the convention.

The Coast Guard's announcement is the latest in a series of disruptions around the July 26-29 convention that are angering some motorists, business owners, and local officials. Other restrictions include an evening shutdown of Interstate 93 in Boston, the closure of North Station, and bag searches and restrictions on most Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trains.

Security changes on the Charles River and Boston Harbor are tame by comparison. Between 600 and 1,000 boats per weekend use the Charles River Locks, and between 100 and 150 use the locks on a typical July weekday, according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which operates the facility.

Tour boats, such as those operated by Boston Duck Tours and Charles Riverboat Co., will be among the only vessels allowed in the secure area outside the FleetCenter. McGrath said Coast Guard officials would probably do a sweep of each boat, as well as check passenger lists.

One tour boat operator welcomed the extra security. ''I think it's going to enhance the tour," said Boston Duck Tours general manager Cindy Brown. ''It's going to be a thrill for the guests to see. . . . Who doesn't want to see that kind of shock and awe that close? It'll be something other than our standard tour, that's for sure."

The boats will float up the Cambridge side of the Charles to the Longfellow Bridge, then turn around and head back on the Cambridge side again, avoiding the Boston side of the river.

''It's not going to impair the view or the experience," she said, adding that convention delegates from Delaware, Missouri, and Oklahoma had already booked group tours.

Recreational boats at the Residents Inn Hotel pier in Charlestown, at the mouth of the Charles River and just inside the easternmost boundary of the security zone, will also have access to the harbor side of the security zone with prior approval from the Coast Guard.

VIP vessels, which will carry partying politicians and other conventiongoers, will also get security escorts, and boaters will be required to stay 50 yards away from the VIP craft. In addition to the Charles River security zone, the Coast Guard will take over the state patrols of a 250-foot security zone around Logan International Airport, beginning July 24 and ending July 31.

Other security measures include the stoppage of all tankers carrying liquid natural gas to an Everett unloading facility.

In addition, the Alford Street Bridge, a drawbridge linking Charlestown and Everett, will not be raised during the convention, to accommodate the heavy traffic on Route 99 resulting from the closure of nearby I-93.